- Aria's POV -

Wait, why was Lydia crying?

Paul turns to Miles. "Miles, if you don't mind . . ."

He seems dazed for a second before realizing what Paul means. "Oh! Yeah, sure. Um, bye guys."

He leaves the house awkwardly, and I feel a little bad for him. Mainly for myself, because I just lost my temporary maid.

He was supposed to do my chores!

Another time. He isn't off the hook, just yet.

Paul turned back to me while Lydia wipes her tears away, sitting on the bed with her hands shaking.

"Aria, talk to us." My uncle pleads, his eyes are full of concern.

I shake my head, wondering what he's talking about. "About what?"

Lydia stands up and holds my hands in her own, cradling them gently. "We knew you had nightmares, but daydreams? How could it have gotten that bad?"

Suddenly, it all comes back to me. My parents' bodies in my room, the pools of blood, Mom looking into my eyes, her smile telling me how relieved she was when she saw me. Dad, lying on the floor where Mom just was, telling me they loved me.

"I'm so sorry, Aunt Lydia. I-I didn't—"

She cut me off. "You have to start therapy again, Aria."

My eyes widen and I stare at her in shock. "What? But—"

"No. I've had enough, Aria. It's getting from bad to worse, and I can't stand seeing you like this."

"Lydia, you know therapy doesn't help me! I hate it, it gives me more nightmares than I already have!" I yell, pulling at my hair and sinking down onto the floor.

Paul crouches and puts a hand on my shoulder. "Aria, please. Give it one more shot, for the sake of us all."

I shake my head frantically, tears stinging my eyes. "Just leave, please."

"Aria-"

"No. P-Please, I need some time to t-think," I beg, my voice cracking.

And with that, they leave the room and shut the door, while I grab Stitch and curl up into a ball, letting it all out.

I cry for Mom, remembering the expression on her face when it actually happened, and I realize that the vision helped me remember. She was relieved. She was alive, for those last few seconds. I never realized it, she looked so dead, yet even though I checked her pulse and felt nothing, she looked right into my eyes with a look of terror and relief. What was she relieved about? Maybe it was when she saw me, alive and unharmed, she was overjoyed that at least her child would survive.

I cry for Dad, remembering his last words to me, right before I left for school that day: We love you, Aria. Never forget that. Dad and I had an argument the night before, where I accused him of not caring about me because he barely ever made any time for me anymore. He objected, trying to reason with my bratty fifteen year old self, telling me his hard work is for our family. I don't know why I was so stupid, and I regret that night more than ever.

I cry for my aunt and uncle, as they both suffered when my parents were murdered. It's strange, if you ask me; Lydia and Mom were sisters, while Paul and Dad were brothers, hence why they both had the same last names. They lost their siblings when I lost my parents. It was hard for them, too.

And I cry for myself, remembering my time as a little girl and spending every moment with my parents. I loved them so much, they always supported me no matter what and they were the friendliest couple in town. They were too precious for this world. I imagined—so many times—what life would be like if they were still alive.

I don't know how long I sob for, but when there are no more tears left to cry, I take a deep breath and stand up, wobbling as I walk to the bathroom to wash up. When I get back to my room, there's a soft knock on the window. Turning my head towards it, I open it up and I'm faced with none other than Miles Prescott.

"Hey," He says with a blank face.

"Hey?" It comes out more like a question.

"Want to get out of here?" He offers, extending his hand over the gap between our two balconies.

I raise an eyebrow. Do I want to escape for a little bit? With Miles, my sworn enemy? More importantly, why the frick was he being civil with me?

Taking my chances, I nod and put my hand in his, and he helps me jump into his balcony.

"Um, now what?" I ask, flustered.

He smirks, then steadies himself onto the railing and jumps onto the tree branch, his legs dangling.

My eyes widen at his actions, shaking my head furiously. "I am not doing that."

Miles tilts his head. "And I thought you were adventurous. Come on, Shortcake. It's fun, and not that high, either."

But I don't budge and cross my arms over my chest. Then, a devilish smile plays on his lips, his hand still outstretched to me.

"Come on, Shortcake. I dare you."

This asshole, he knows I never back out of a dare.

Glaring, I reach for his hand and he easily helps me onto the branch. Then, he hangs onto the branch, like a monkey bar, swinging himself so that his foot lands on a rock that was about the size of my dresser. Next, he steps off the rock and onto the grass, smiling proudly like he just won an award.

"Just do exactly what I did." He tells me, looking up.

"What if I fall?" I say, peeking down and realizing it looked a lot higher than he said it was.

He scoffs. "I won't let that happen. If you fall, I'll catch you. I promise, Shortcake. You'll be fine."

After his small speech, I feel a little bit better, so I drop and hang onto the branch with my hands, swinging until my foot touches the rock, just like Miles did.

But, here's the thing: I'm not as graceful.

So when I let go, my foot slips off and I let out a whimper. Instead of falling on my butt and breaking my bones, I end up in the arms of Miles', who caught me, just as he promised.

Breathless, I hide my face in his chest while he holds me bridal-style.

"Hey, you're safe. I caught you, see? You're okay." Miles says, his voice soothing me.

And then I do something weird and unexpected.

I burp.

Then everything goes back to silence.

Until Miles starts shaking and I look back up at his face, and he was laughing.

I go crimson red, feeling really embarrassed.

I can't believe I just burped in front of Miles.

"That was by far the loudest burp I've ever heard from a girl." He laughs, and I can't help but join in.

"Shut up," I mutter, completely forgetting he was still holding me until he started to walk. "Uh, can you put me down now?"

He freezes for a split second, as if just realizing something. "Yeah, sure." Miles helps me stand up and I wipe my sweaty palms on my pants.

"So, where exactly are we going?" I interrogate, walking beside him.

"It's not far, ten minutes walk, maybe. Just follow me." He instructs and I nod, sending Zoe a quick text in case I need someone to cover for me.